As you may remember, Michael Cleveland suffered a spleen injury on a tailwhip-drop gone wrong at the Dew Tour in Salt Lake. Doctors said he would be off his bike for six months. However, at only around a month later, he is already making great progress in getting back to normal. Vital BMX recenetly caught up with Michael Cleveland to get an update on his health.


 
Physically, how are you feeling?

I’m feeling pretty good; some days are better than others, though. I’ll be feeling really good so I’ll go on a road bike ride, but almost instantly my heart rate will get really high and I’ll get short of breath.  Other than that it’s just gonna take time.

The doctor said you may be off your bike for 6 months; do you think you'll be back before then?

The doctors tell every person the same thing. Every person heals differently; especially bike riders that are more injury-prone than the average person. I think in the next week or so I want to go roll around at a skatepark and see how it feels. If I feel good, I’ll just take it from there.

Have you done any sort of physical activity since the injury? If so, how did that go?

Same as number one; mostly just road bike rides.

Have you returned to work?

I went back to work two weeks after it happened. My work was really understanding and they told me to come back and all I would do is paperwork and some other mellow stuff that wouldn’t be hard on me.

Are you regularly seeing a doctor?

I went to the doctor a couple of days after I got home (from Salt Lake), but I haven’t been back since. I think I have an appointment in the next few weeks for a check up.

Since you've been off your bike, have you continued following BMX?

I check Vital and a few other BMX sites almost everyday, so yes.

What are your plans once you're able to ride again?

I’m not really sure; I guess I’ll continue what I was doing. I just like to ride and have fun, so if I can go back to that I will be content.

Are you bummed to be missing the Dew Tour this weekend?

Yes and no. No because I’m not the most motivated person while I’m at Dew Tours, and yes because it’s at the contests when I get to see a lot of my friends that live really far away. One thing about this Dew Tour I will for sure miss is the open bar party that Playstation puts on.